Getty Image / Daniel Jayo
On Tuesday, soccer clubs Fluminese FC and Argentinos Juniors faced off in the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores.
The matched ended in a 1-1 draw. However, all of the attention is on Argentinos star Luciano Sánchez after he suffered what might be the worst injury of the year.
Around the 55 minute mark, Fluminese star Marcelo Vieira was dribbling the ball up the field. Luciano Sánchez went for the tackle. But he missed the ball completely.
Marcelo then accidentally stepped on Sánchez’s leg, clearly fracturing it on the spot.
The stretcher came out and it took some time for officials to get Luciano Sánchez off of the field who was very clearly in pain.
During the aftermath, Marcelo Viera of the Fluminese FC was visibly distraught. Tears were coming down his face while players from both teams consoled him.
As a result though, the referees gave Marcelo a red card, removing him from the game completely. Him and his teammates tried to explain it was an accident. But in the end, Marcelo understood the ruling and left the match.
For now, there is no update on Luciano Sánchez’s leg injury. He’ll likely have to receive surgery to mend his leg back into shape. Additionally, considering the injury was so brutal, Sánchez likely won’t be available for quite some time.
Meanwhile, Marcelo won’t be available for the next match. It’s unclear if the league will give him Marcelo more than just a one game suspension at this time.
However, considering it was clearly an accident, he should be back in action sooner, rather than later.
With that said, we just hope Luciano Sánchez has a quick and healthy recovery.